Obama administration offers $27 million in additional help for Syrian rebels

The Syrian Opposition Council’s offices in the US will become formal diplomatic missions after receiving approval from the Obama administration on Monday. This comes ahead of high-level talks between the US and opposition leaders in Washington.

The administration first recognized the Syrian Opposition Council
as the legitimate representative of Syria in December 2012, but
did not suspend the Syrian embassy - representing the Assad
government - until this March. The opposition offices were
considered informal liaison offices until Monday’s announcement,
where they will become “foreign diplomatic missions” under US
law, the Associated Press reports.

"This is an important step in the path toward a new Syria,
its recognition on the international stage, and its relations
with Syrian nationals in the US," Ahmad al-Jarba, head of
the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement. “The new
status provides a diplomatic platform for the Coalition to
advance the interests of the Syrian people at all levels. This is
a diplomatic blow against Assad's legitimacy and demonstrates how
far the opposition has progressed.”

"It's a reflection of our partnership with the coalition as
the legitimate representative of the Syrian people," State
Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.

Jarba is embarking on his first official visit to Washington as
the head of the SOC, CBS News reports. He will be joined by the
new chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Brigadier
General Abdelilah al-Bashir, his office told AFP, but State
Department officials would not confirm.

The SOC president made the announcement of the change in status
via Twitter.

Happy to announce that today, the US government has officially
recognized our Syrian Coalition's Washington office as a
Foreign Mission.

The move comes as Syrian President Bashar Assad runs for
reelection in June. A senior US administration official denounced
the election as "a parody of democracy," AFP reports.
Assad’s decision to hold the elections "rings particularly
hollow given that the regime is continuing to attack and massacre
the very electorate that is purporting to represent," the
official said.

The formal recognition of the diplomatic missions is largely
symbolic, as the two offices will not become the embassy in DC or
the consulate in New York, AP reports. But the move was a key
request by the Syrian opposition, who believe it will give them
greater presence and credibility among Syrian expatriates in the
US. It will allow the US government to assist the missions with
banking and security services.

There are key differences between a foreign diplomatic mission
and an embassy or consulate. People working in the missions will
not be granted diplomatic immunity, nor will they be allowed
access to the assets or properties that belong to the Assad
regime, CBS News reports. Even with its embassies suspended, the
Assad’s government is still officially recognized by the US.

During his visit, Jarba will meet with US Secretary of State John
Kerry and members of the National Security Council and from the
Treasury Department, according to CBS News. Al-Bashir is
scheduled to meet with US officials “to discuss the supply of
sophisticated weapons to the FSA to enable it to change the
balance on the ground," his office told AFP.

Along with the recognition, the administration promised an
additional $27 million aid to the opposition council, as well as
promising to step up its non-lethal assistance to moderate
commanders in the Free Syrian Army, AP reports. The additional
aid will bring the total US assistance to opposition groups to
$278 million, according to the Guardian.

The coalition is battling against Assad in the country’s civil
war, which began with peaceful protests in March 2011. More than
150,000 people have been killed and millions more have been
displaced in the three years since fighting began. Assad’s forces
are backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants and pro-government
militias, and have made recent battlefield gains, AP reports. In
February, a second round of peace talks between the opposition,
representatives of the Assad government, the US and Russia
failed to
reach an agreement.